The second week of the Proposition 8 trial just got under way. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has been on the stand for about 10 minutes, and is being questioned by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera. The Republican is testifying on his transformation on the gay-marriage issue, spurred in large part by the impact of his lesbian daughter, Lisa. Sanders choked up discussing how his daughter came home from college and told him she was lesbian. "I felt overwhelming love," he said.

Sanders said he previously believed civil unions were adequate rights, but altered his view and went public with his support for same-sex marriage.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders continues to describe his evolution, personally and politically, on same-sex marriage. For the former police chief and conservative Republican, everything came to a head more than two years ago, as the city was considering filing an amicus brief in favor of gay marriage in the litigation in the state courts. Sanders publicly came out in favor of the position, deciding against a mayoral veto that may have played better politically in conservative San Diego. "If government tolerates discrimination against anyone for any reason, it becomes an excuse for the public to do the same thing," he testified.

Advertisement

Sanders will be followed on the stand today by M.V. Lee Badgett, a University of Massachusetts professor who will testify on the "private harms" caused to gays and lesbians by denying them the right to marry, and Ryan Kendall, a gay man who will describe "conversion therapy" he was forced to undergo in his youth.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera has finished up his questioning of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who repeatedly choked up as he described his daughter Lisa's quest to marry her partner, Meghan. The couple last year eventually went to Vermont to marry, but Sanders made it clear the couple should have been able to marry in their own state. "My daughter deserves the same opportunity to have a wedding in front of family, friends and co-workers, to have that recognized lawfully," he told the courtroom.

Sanders is now being cross-examined by Proposition 8 lawyer Brian Raum, who appears to be trying to depict Sanders as closely aligned with the gay and lesbian community and to portray San Diego's political establishment as "receptive" to gay and lesbian activists and issues. Not clear where that line of questioning is going, although it is possible Raum may try to use it to counteract the plaintiffs' argument that gays and lesbians have traditionally been denied powers and rights in the political process.

10:11 a.m.: Defense presses San Diego mayor on views

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has completed his stay on the witness stand. Proposition 8 lawyer Brian Raum asked repeatedly questions to Sanders about his support for gay marriage, and attempted to get him to acknowledge that people who oppose gay marriage are not necessarily motivated by "animus" and "hostility." Raum pressed the mayor about his past position favoring civil unions over same-sex marriage, and asked whether he was motivated then by "hatred" of gays and lesbians. "It can be a situation where it is not based on animus," Sanders said. "That doesn't mean it isn't grounded in prejudice."

The plaintiffs have moved on to their next witness, Lee Badgett, a University of Massachusetts professor who is expected to testify on the private harm to same-sex couples who are denied the right to marry. Plaintiffs attorney David Boies is just beginning to question Badgett, another in a line of experts called by the lawyers challenging Proposition 8's constitutionality.

10:51 a.m.: Prof: Prop. 8 has damaged California's economy

Lee Badgett, a University of Massachusetts professor and plaintiffs expert, has outlined four conclusions she's reached on Proposition 8's impact in California, including a "substantial economic harm" to same-sex couples denied the right to marry, as well as damage to California's overall economy. She also will testify on research that there is scant demographic difference between same-sex and heterosexual couples, and no evidence same-sex marriage harms children.

It appears Badgett's expert testimony is going to get close attention from both sides in the trial. She is being questioned by David Boies, one of the plaintiffs' top guns in the case, and the cross-examination is apparently going to be handled by Proposition 8's lead lawyer, Charles Cooper. Based on the past cross-examinations of the plaintiffs experts, Badgett can expect a long day on the stand today.

11:32 a.m.: Prof: Gay couples prefer marriage over civil unions

Lee Badgett, a plaintiffs expert and University of Massachusetts professor, is continuing to detail what she considers the downsides of denying same-sex couples the right to marry. Among other things, she said research shows domestic partnerships and civil unions are not an adequate substitute to marriage.

For example, she showed the court data on the first year of giving those benefits to same-sex couples in different states, with marriage by far the preferred choice for gay and lesbian couples (37 percent opted to marry the first year it became available in Massachusetts, but couples chose civil unions in other states 12 percent of the time, and just 10 percent opted for domestic partnerships in the first year partnership laws were enacted).

There is "very clear evidence that many people would marry but would not become domestic partners," she told Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker.

"Marriage is a way for two individuals to form a more strongly committed relationship," she said later.

Proposition 8 supporters maintain that domestic partnership benefits are sufficient to protect the rights of same-sex couples. Badgett also said research refutes the argument that same-sex marriage damages traditional heterosexual marriage, saying "there is no evidence of any harmful effect" in allowing same-sex couples to wed.

11:52 a.m.: Professor cross-examined: Is she 'a gay-rights activist'?

After little more than an hour under questioning from plaintiffs attorney David Boies, Professor Lee Badgett is now being cross-examined by lead Proposition 8 attorney Charles Cooper. Cooper's initial questions are similar to those asked of the other plaintiffs experts, meant to depict them as supporting same-sex marriage and opposing California's ban on gay marriage.

"Would it be fair to call you a gay rights activist?" Cooper asked Badgett at one point. She said she was "not sure" what Cooper meant, insisting her views are based on 20 years of studying the economic impacts of denying same-sex couples the right to marry.

It is a fair bet that Badgett will spend more than an hour under cross-examination from Cooper.

12:37 p.m.: Cross-exam of prof expected to last a couple more hours

Judge Vaughn Walker has just taken the daily lunch break in the Proposition 8 trial. Proposition 8 lawyer Charles Cooper said he has a "couple more hours" of cross-examination of plaintiffs expert Lee Badgett, who only testified for about one hour under questioning from plaintiffs lawyers. Cooper is trying to challenge Badgett's assumptions that domestic-partnership laws are not adequate for same-sex couples, offering up figures that many gay and lesbian couples registered as domestic partners in 2008, when marriage was available for part of the year. Cooper asked whether those couples considered domestic partnership "socially and culturally second-rate to marriage," but Badgett was not persuaded. "I don't know exactly what conclusion you could draw," she said.

1:50 p.m.: Trial back in session after dueling news conferences

The Proposition 8 trial has resumed after the lunch break with the cross-examination of University of Massachusetts Professor Lee Badgett. Over the break, the two sides in the trial held dueling news conferences, with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders appearing with his lesbian daughter, Lisa Sanders, by his side. Sanders, who married partner Meghan in Vermont last month, said she was "very proud" of her Republican father's decision to come out in favor of same-sex marriage.

Sanders, meanwhile, said it was tough to testify on the subject because he had to publicly acknowledge that his past position in favor of civil unions and against gay marriage was necessarily prejudiced. "I was wrong about that," Sanders told reporters. "It was something I wanted to make people understand today."

Proposition 8 counsel Andrew Pugno called Sanders' testimony part of the plaintiffs' approach of trying to offer emotional accounts in a matter that should be decided by law and facts. "They are just completely irrelevant," Pugno said of testimony from witnesses describing their own views on same-sex marriage.

Prop. 8 lawyer Charles Cooper appears close to finishing his cross-examination of plaintiffs expert Lee Badgett. Cooper has spent several hours challenging Badgett's assumptions on the benefits of domestic partnership laws and whether they offer lesser protections and rights to same-sex couples. He also is trying to poke holes in her estimates of the economic costs to denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry in California; she has pegged the loss to the state's economy at hundreds of millions of dollars over a three or four year period. Cooper is questioning whether her estimates on the number of same-sex couples who would even marry are reliable. Badgett insists they are. Cooper kept pressing her on her support for gay marriage.

At one point, she shot back, "Based on my research I think it's good for people and doesn't hurt anyone else."

UMass professor Lee Badgett is back under more friendly questioning from plaintiffs attorney David Boies. Prop. 8 lawyer Charles Cooper wrapped up his cross-examination, trying to undermine Badgett's conclusion that same-sex marriage would not have any impact on heterosexual marriage. Cooper tried to use charts showing some drop in heterosexual marriage rates in the Netherlands since same-sex marriage was permitted more than eight years ago, but that just prompted a debate over the meaning of such trends. Boies is going over the Netherlands data as well, and the bottom line on trends of marriage and divorce is that each side appears able to make something out of the numbers.

The plaintiffs next witness is Ryan Kendall, a gay man who will testify of the effects of undergoing "conversion therapy" when he was young. It is not clear whether Kendall will make it to the stand today, or be pushed back until tomorrow morning.

Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker has wrapped up the 6th day of the Prop. 8 trial. Plaintiffs expert Lee Badgett finished her long day on the stand, testifying that nothing in the cross-examination from Prop. 8 lawyer Charles Cooper altered her stance that same-sex marriage is superior to domestic partnership and would not cause any harm to heterosexual marriage.

The trial resumes Wednesday morning with the testimony of Ryan Kendall, a gay man who is expected to recount going through "conversion therapy" in his youth. Plaintiffs lawyers have indicated they will finish their case Wednesday. It remains unclear whether they intend to call any leaders of the Prop. 8 campaign. Prop. 8 lawyers, meanwhile, say they know they have two experts who will testify for their side, quite a few less than originally forecast. Prop. 8 lawyer Andrew Pugno said some witnesses refused to testify with the prospect of a televised trial still in the air.

(Read Howard Mintz's recap of the day's proceedings in the Proposition 8 trial later today online on this Web site and in tomorrow's Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Oakland Tribune, and other Bay Area News Group papers. Return to this Web site for live coverage of the Proposition 8 trial each and every day court is in session).